💰Big buys in Alliance, Near Southside; Whose Stockyards are asking $27M? Beatles back, better than ever.

GTIS Partners and Hopewell Development have sold Champions Circle Business Park, a premier Class A industrial development located at the southeast corner of SH-114 and Champions Parkway in Alliance Texas. Champions Circle spans 21 acres and features three industrial buildings totaling 361,040 square feet.

Worth Commercial Real Estate has purchased historic Magnolia Centre at 1227 W. Magnolia Avenue in Fort Worth. It is 31,000 square feet of Class B office space and hosts multiple office tenants. Worth Commercial plans to finish out office space on the 4th floor to serve as its headquarters.

The U.S. tariffs against Mexico and Canada have been delayed, but the 10% tax on imported goods from China is in effect. China set higher tariffs on incoming American goods and China’s State Administration for Market Regulation said it is investigating Google on suspicion of violating antitrust laws.

Believe it or not: The Beatles won the Grammy for Best Rock Performance Sunday for its track “Now and Then”, which was created using AI-assisted noise reduction systems to clean up a decades-old, low-quality piano demo passed down from the late John Lennon to Paul McCartney. (music video)

Correction: A snippet about a former Tarrant County College Northeast campus president was mistakenly published in Monday’s newsletter. The item was outdated and should not have appeared.

The University of North Texas Health Science Center paid Sylvia Trent-Adams — its outgoing president — $560,000 in return for her voluntary resignation, according to public records released to the Star-Telegram.

Oklahoma City's 100-year-old relic of western heritage, the downtown cattle stockyards, is for sale. The $27-million price tag includes 100 acres of prime property along the Oklahoma River in a growing city of roughly 700,000 residents.

Galaxy Unmanned Systems, a TechFW client, has received a Program Manager assigned by the Federal Aviation Administration to work in tandem toward integrating unmanned airships into the national airspace and developing technologies that have the potential to reshape the aviation industry.

All 67 bodies have been recovered and most of the wreckage from the American Airlines plane and Army helicopter crash over the Potomac have been recovered. The latest is here. 

Aledo City Manager Noah Simon appointed Carol Riddle as the inaugural Public Safety Director. Aledo is establishing its first police department, a top priority set by Mayor Nick Stanley and the Aledo City Council. Best estimates are the city has approximately 6,800 residents and is growing at a rate of 7+% annually. 

Luka Doncic put Dallas Mavericks fans in the seats, no question. Now, fans who have canceled their season tickets are saying they have been offered refunds.

A New Orleans-based appeals court upheld the Biden administration’s $15 minimum wage for federal contractors, adding to a growing split over whether the President had the power to issue that executive order. 

Arlington is surveying residents about perceptions and concerns with the use of a fully autonomous rideshare transportation service. The Arlington RAPID public transportation program, an autonomous, on-demand rideshare service, has provided riders with nearly 100,000 trips around downtown and the UTA campus since March 2021.

The United Way of Tarrant County is offering scheduled appointments at 11 of its 12 Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) sites. Annually, an estimated 4,000 households across Tarrant County use VITA’s free tax preparation services, which are available to families and individuals with household incomes up to $67,000. UWTC is also launching community resource fairs connecting filers with financial literacy and workforce development support.

The White House confirmed that Elon Musk is working for President Donald Trump as a “special government employee,” solidifying his role in the administration, but side-stepping some disclosure rules that are typical of federal workers.

Healthgrades has released its 2025 America’s Best Hospitals list, recognizing top-performing hospitals based on patient outcomes. Using a clinically validated methodology, Healthgrades evaluated approximately 4,500 hospitals across more than 30 procedures and conditions to determine the top 250. 817-area hospitals ranked in the Top 250 include: Medical City Arlington, Texas Health Fort Worth, Baylor Scott & White All Saints Medical Center-Fort Worth, Baylor Scott & White Medical Center-Grapevine, and Texas Health H-E-B.

Skylar Brogdon O'Neal is running for a spot with the Tarrant Regional Water District Board of Directors. She is a Principal at Summit Cove Investments.

Brackett & Ellis attorney Veronica Chavez Law has announced she is running for Place 7 on the Board of Trustees for Tarrant County College.

ResProp Management has taken over full-service property management for Standard at Boswell Marketplace Apartments near Eagle Mountain Lake. The Standard has 120+ units comprised of one-, two- and three-bedroom apartment homes.

The 40th annual Fort Worth Martin Luther King Jr. Holiday Parade and Rally is rescheduled for Monday, Feb. 17.

Snippets:

• TCU announces finalized 2025 football schedule.

• TCU opens two residence halls and a dining spot on the east side of campus.

• Texas Scorecard reports students test scores drop despite increase in spending.

• 2025 Forecast: Trends shaping site selection and corporate real estate from Site Selection Group.

Daily digit: Chick-fil-A recorded $21.6B in U.S. sales in 2023; in 2024, about 60% of its sales came at drive-thru windows. 

Significant stat: 60 = New bookstores that Barnes & Noble is planning to open this year, as interest in reading and brick-and-mortar bookstores see a revival.

 Announcements:

• United Football League: Names Dr. Damond Blueitt, M.D. as the league's Medical Director. 

• The Texas Lyceum: Inducts Cameron Cushman, UNT Health Science Center, into its 2025 class.

• Dynamic Development Strategies: Adds Dorothy Wing as Senior Associate.

• Center for Transforming Lives: Hires Rhea Jackson as Co-working Manager. 

• FirmFinder: Adds Jason Carter as Advisor. 

• Genesis Rail Company: Hires former BNSF executive Rance Randle as CEO.

• Beard Kultgen Brophy Bostwick & Dickson: Adds attorney Daniel Tatum Of Counsel.

• Tarrant County Bar Association: Appoints Kelly Hart attorney Joseph Austin to Judicial Polls Committee for a three-year term. 

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